Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Adult , Arthritis/complications , Arthritis/diagnosis , Arthritis, Juvenile/complications , Arthritis, Juvenile/drug therapy , Doxycycline/therapeutic use , Amoxicillin/therapeutic use , Fever/etiology , Rat-Bite Fever/diagnosis , Rat-Bite Fever/drug therapy , Early Diagnosis , Arthritis , Arthritis, Juvenile , Diagnosis, Differential , Moniliformis/isolation & purification , Rat-Bite Fever/complications , Rat-Bite Fever/physiopathologyABSTRACT
We report 2 cases of rat-bite fever (RBF), a multisystem zoonosis, in children and review the literature. RBF is caused by I of 2 Gram-negative organisms: Streptobacillus moniliformis or, less commonly, Spirillum minus. Both of our cases developed in school-aged girls with a history of rat exposure who presented with a multisystem illness consisting of fever, petechial and purpuric rash, arthralgia and polyarthritis. Both responded promptly to antibiotic treatment. An additional 10 cases from a MEDLINE review (1960-2000) are reviewed. RBF must be included in the differential diagnosis of febrile patients with rashes and a history of exposure to rats.
Subject(s)
Rat-Bite Fever/physiopathology , Streptobacillus/isolation & purification , Adolescent , Animals , Anti-Bacterial Agents/therapeutic use , Child , Child, Preschool , Diagnosis, Differential , Female , Humans , Infant , Infant, Newborn , Male , Rat-Bite Fever/diagnosis , Rat-Bite Fever/drug therapy , RatsABSTRACT
A laboratory animal technician experienced undulating fever, chills, and myalgia 3 days after he was bitten by a laboratory rat. The clinical symptoms subsided with antibiotic therapy, but recurrent fever, malaise, and joint pain occurred when therapy was discontinued. Streptobacillus moniliformis was cultured from the patient's blood.